Mika Nakashima - ORION

SINGLE REVIEW
Mika Nakashima - ORION

1. ORION
2. FOCUS
3. ORION (Instrumental)
4. FOCUS (Instrumental)

This is Mika Nakashima’s 27th single and it was released on November 12, 2008. This single reached #6 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 27,046 copies. The title track was used as the theme song for the drama Ryuusei no Kizuna.

I’m really glad to see Mika Nakashima slowly drift back to the soft jazz sound that she does so well and ORION is definitely a step in the right direction. This is a calm, melodic song with great vocals and a rich arrangement. For me, the best thing about the song were the ambient electric guitars. They’re laid back and perfectly characterize the jazzy atmosphere, giving the music some flavor.

The B-side is something I haven’t heard in a while from Nakashima. FOCUS reminded me of the upbeat pop songs of her early career, but better! The arrangement is kind of offbeat with its use of synth but when the brass comes in, it’s very nice. Nakashima displays fast, lower pitched vocals for the verses but she adds a good amount of emphasis and power into her voice for the excellent chorus. I love how she ends the chorus by singing “My focus is on you” too. It’s easily one of her best B-sides and I’m estatic that it’s also on her latest album VOICE.

Overall Rating

4½ stars